Refrigerating apparatus



Oct. 22, 1940. J. 6. KING REFRIGERATING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 13. 1936 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 22, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT [OFFICE Motors Corporation, Dayton,

tion of Delaware Ohio, a corpora- Application August 13, 1936, Serial No. 95,868.

3 Claims.

This invention relates to refrigerating apparatus and more particularly to apparatus employed in the cooling of beverages such as beer.

It is an object of this invention to provide means for cooling the beer while it is in the keg.

One object of this invention is to provide cooling means which may be attached to the keg or inserted into the keg at the establishment where the beverage is to be dispensed and which may be removed fromthe keg before returning the container for a refill.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cooling means which does not materially interfere with the pitching operation of the keg.

Another object of this invention is to provide a keg with a plurality of cooling surfaces, one of which comprises one wall of the keg.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view partly in section showing an arrangement of cooling apparatus together with a plurality of kegs;

Fig. 2 is a detailed view showing a bottom construction which may be used in a system such as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a. sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 4 is a detailed view of a further modified form of bottom construction which may be used in the system shown in Fig. 1;

' Fig. 5 is a detailed view showing a still further modification of cooling apparatus which may be used in the system shown in Fig. 1.

Applicants apparatus may be used for attemperating any and all kinds of fluids, but in order to simplify the description, the apparatus will be referred to as cooling apparatus for beverages such as beer.

Fig. 1 shows a beer cooling system in which the usual refrigerating apparatus 49 supplies refrigerant to the evaporator 50 located within the main cooling fluid storage tank 5|. In this particular arrangement the pump 52 driven by motor 53 supplies cooling fluid to the cooling chambers within the kegs 54. Any suitable thermostatic means may be used for controlling the operation of the pump 52. As shown herein the coolingfluid enters the cooling chamber from the bottom end of the keg and also leaves from the bottom and returns to the main storage tank 5| via the pipe lines 95. Any form of tap rods 56 may be employed. C02 is supplied through the pipe line 51 in the usual manner.

In Fig. 2 I have shown one form of cooling chamber which may be employed in the system shown in Fig. 1. Whenever the cooling coils are 5 placed within the kegs and are permitted to remain therein at all times, it frequently happens that the cooling coils break as a result of rough handling of the kegs. The cooling coils located within the kegs also complicate the pitching operation of the keg. For that reason I have devised a cooling unit mounted externally of the keg which comprises'a spirally corrugated metallic, member 58 which is adapted to be permanently attached to the keg and which serves as the permanent bottom for the keg. A false bottom 59 is also provided which is removably secured to the corrugated bottom member 58 by means of any suitable securing means such as 60. Cooling fluid is supplied to the space between the false bottom 59 and the member 58 through the pipe GI and leaves throughthe pipe 62.

The false bottom 59 may be permitted to remain in place during shipment or it may be removed and replaced by a similar bottom (not shown) which does not have pipe connections such as 6i and 82 and which will serve to insulate the bottom during shipment. The pipes BI and 62 may be connected to the inlets and outlets in any convenient manner. The ordinary form of 3 connection used on garden hose has been found satisfactory, and is convenient since it affords easy and quick means for detaching the cooling fluid connections.

The usual practice is for the supply house to 5 cool the beer before delivery. It has been found that where the beer is permitted to become slightly warm before being installed in the cooling system, the cooling surface provided by the apparatus shown in Fig. 2 is not sufiiclent to properly cool the beer and for that reason I have devised a modified arrangement shown in Fig. 4 whereby the cooling surface has been increased a slight amount without materially changing the structure. 7

As shown in Fig. 3 the bottom wall is provided with a. spiral corrugation so that cooling fluid entering the central portion of the cooling chamber through pipe line 6| will traverse the full length of the spiral before leaving through the line 62. In this way no dead spots exist in the cooling chamber. The closure member 64 may be left in place during shipment or it may be replaced by an insulating plate which does not have the pipe connection.

In order to still further increase the cooling capacity, I have devised the cooling apparatus shown in Fig. 5 in which the bottom wall 65 of the keg forms a cooling surface and in addition thereto the corrugated wall structure 66 furnishes additional cooling surface. In this modification, a removable cap member 61 has been employed which is provided with the cooling fluid inlet 88 and outlet 68a so that cooling fluid is caused to circulate in thermal contact with the bottom wall of the keg and also with the corrugated side walls 66.

In order to retain the removable cap member 81 in place, I have provided an end member 69 which is held in place by the swing bolts ll.

These swing bolts-are provided with thumb nuts.

II whereby the flange 12 of the cap member 61 may be drawn up against the gasket 13. The cap member 61, as well as the member 69 together with swing bolts 10, may be removed before returning the keg for refilling purposes. Although, if found convenient the whole assembly may be returned with the keg. I

The above construction has a number of advantages over prior known devices. The arrange-,.

' which follow.

What is claimed is as follows: 1. In combination with a beer keg or the like having one wall provided with a tortuous groove 4 onits outer side, means removably secured to said groove on its outer side, means removably secured to said keg closing the open side of said groove, inlet and outlet connections carried by said means adapted to communicate with said groove at spaced points along said groove whereby cooling fluid may be circulated in through said inlet, through said tortuous groove and out through said outlet, said removable means comprising a substantially flat disc portion adapted to be secured against said end wall.

3. In combination with a beer keg or the like having a cylindrical heat conducting wall portion in position for contact with the contents of said keg provided with an external spirally arranged groove, a cylindrical shell adapted to be positioned over said cylindrical wall portion and closing said groove, means for introducing a cooling fluid into said groove at one point along said groove and means for discharging cooling fluid from said groove at a point along said groove remote from said first named point.

JESSE G. KING. 

